How much do you charge.....

[Traffic101]

Hi, I'm thinking of tapping into the freelance market. I have noticed that people want you to write for next to nothing, from $1.00-5.00 an article. I am kicking around the idea of $10 an article, but not less than that.

What is the average rate, and for how many words, and what kind of quality.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks and I love this forum!

[John_S]

Like any product, it's a matter of value received versus price. At that price, your only quality is successfully keeping the keywords from running together.

Content has become the "spacer GIF" keeping the layout from collapsing. And for that, I'd guess $1.00 to $5.00 is about right.

There is no value added model for that field because there's no purpose or objective for the content as there is for copy.

Consequently most of these articles are generic basics better suited to high school term papers dashed off the night before.

You can use gibberish to separate keywords. Articles should be used to get people to consider the purported author an authority in their field. Most articles do just the opposite.

Information poor articles make the author appear rather clueless and/or inept. Certainly not worth buying anything from. If the reader feels they just wasted their time reading, it's not information -- it's a mirage.

There's no "there" when you get to the end of cheap articles. You're left feeling vaguely cheated and annoyed for giving up your attention, but you don't realize exactly why.

Let's say you're selling photography technique. And you're trying to get a crowd shot. But people look directly at you as you're shooting, some stop, others make faces or pose for the camera.

Pro photographers have a secret. They get into a wheelchair. Nobody makes eye contact and the shot comes off looking like it does in magazines.

There are always powerful golden nuggets, every bit as closely guarded as a magician's secrets. As good as gold, such nuggets hold unequivocal value by building your reputation as an expert. You don't get that when you pay by the ton.

Golden nuggets, also known as trade secrets, are what's missing from the article you feel cheated by. You don't buy seminars from these people. You don't buy IM products. It's obvious they've got nothing you want to know.

Poor articles are like poor products. You don't write strong copy. All good copy does for entrepreneurs using poor articles is to help them fail faster.

Related:

These photographs show how short order cooks remember orders. These secret plate markers allow a Waffle House cook to simultaneously prepare multiple customer orders at once. Every job has a "cheat sheet" that makes you an authority, no matter what you're writing about.

(This is a handy sheet the people spending pennies on articles will find valuable ....shortly).

[Traffic101]

Hi, I agree, I see people on here offering to write articles for $1-5.00. It makes me wonder what kind of quality they are getting. I am used to getting $25-100 for my articles, so when people want to pay me less...I have to turn it down.

Thanks for making me feel better.

Tressa

[Phil Jones]

Have you thought of offering sales copy writing? This seems to be where the big money is being made.

[Loren Woirhaye]

The freelancing sites and many posters here will have you thinking
there is no market for competent writing at better than pizza
delivery wages. Not the case - but if you are marketing exclusively
to home-based internet startups with little capital you'll find they'll
often choose cheap price over quality - which is why so many
web-sites have bad writing.

Read the books on freelancing by Bowerman, Bob Bly, or Steve
Slaunwhite and you'll see a different way to get clients that
actually have budgets, need effective writers, and for whom
quality matters more than rock-bottom prices (which in the
real business world often scares off the better clients).

[David]

Wow, what an eye opener... I'd like to use that as copy on one of my blogs...
(not that I really think you'd agree to do that).

just thought I'd give you kudos though...

gibberish will get you ranked in google... but it's not sales copy and it's not going to get you an avid reader salivating over your next ezine or blog post.

... gibberish will make you adsense change

quality writing takes time... that's why I'm not posting to MY blogs as often as I'd like. gotta put meat on the table first

well said John S, somebody had to say it

[jeffbaas]

Yes, I agree that writing is not some big, homogeneous blob. I've written all my life in my various careers and I've constantly been frustrated with the common thought that simply putting words down on paper (or in pixels) constitutes writing and that all writing is of the same quality and worth the same value.

People who want to pay $1-$5 per article are looking for filler. If you have something better than filler to contribute, ignore those employers and look for the ones who want quality. Yes, the ones who want quality are harder to find.

You usually have to look for them. They don't post anywhere and everywhere they might find anyone and everyone who's only interested in making a quick buck. But higher paying employers are out there, as others in this thread have described.

[Ryan Dodson]

Yeah most websites that have elegant web copy are those who realize that quality content is totally worth the up-front price.

I too once wondered why people pay so much for content...And then I started to purchase it myself at discounted prices... Needless to say, I was disappointed on numerous occasions.

In my opinion and based on my experience: You Get What You Pay For.